The online world moves at a breakneck speed and poses a range of significant threats that most of us are now all too aware of. Despite the dangers of the online space, safe browsing is possible and we can offer a few tips on how to do it.

Protect your privacy

Be wary about giving out personal information when you’re online – even something as simple as your phone number can help cyber criminals and hackers to carry out their dark work. When using social media, make sure that you understand the privacy settings and they are set to provide the level of protection that you’re looking for. If you don’t want the general public to have access to what you say and post on social media then make sure you’ve set your account to private or protected. If you come across a web page that’s asking for login details or personal details then look at the address at the top of the page – make sure you’re at the right spot and not inputting those details to an imposter site.

Look for the padlock

If you’re shopping online, or you’re about to enter sensitive information such as bank details, make sure that you can see the padlock symbol – this indicates that the website you’re about to use is safe and that you’ll be sending your information in a secure way. If you double click the padlock then you’ll be able to see certificate information for the site – make sure this is current and that the company it has been issued to is the same one you are browsing. The padlock should appear in the window frame of the browser, not on the site itself.

Click carefully

All it takes is one click on an infected advert or website and you could find your entire system, or network, compromised. The same goes for links that arrive in front of you via your email inbox – this is one of the most popular ways for delivering malware and so cyber criminals have become experts at convincing us to click when we shouldn’t. Stay safe online and keep your clicking to a minimum. If you aren’t sure about a link, don’t click it!

Be mobile wary too

More and more of us now choose to browse online and the same risks that exist via your desktop are there if you’re surfing from a smart phone or tablet too. Be particularly wary of Wi-Fi as hotspots can be accessed by hackers to intercept web traffic – don’t use a hotspot to do anything where you need to input sensitive information, such as passwords – stick to Wi-Fi you know and trust for that. Apps are another way that our security can be compromised online so make sure you’re only downloading apps from an official app store to minimise the chances of a bad experience.

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ITC Global Advisors is a unit that connects private sector innovation to global and national security challenges. It collaborates with government agencies, engages with the private sector, handles cyber crisis incidents and creates customised communication strategies.

We offer cyber security and information management as a service to large and mid-market clients, enabling them to protect their critical data assets across on-premises and cloud-based infrastructures. Our scalable and cost-effective solutions deliver comprehensive threat intelligence, detection, management and response.